6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The powerful Greek shipowner and constructor Thanos proposes to marry Phaedra during the baptism of a ship with her name. Phaedra, who is the daughter of Thanos'greatest competitor, is a bored woman. Thanos gives an expensive ring to Phaedra and soon she learns that his estranged son from his first marriage, Alexis, has left the London School of Economics (LSE) in London to dedicate himself to painting. Thanos asks Phaedra to travel to London to bring Alexis to meet him in Greece. When Phaedra meets Alexis, she falls in love with her stepson and seduces him. Their doomed love affair leads the family to a tragedy.
Starring: Melina Mercouri, Anthony Perkins, Raf Vallone, Elizabeth Ercy, Tzavalas KarousosDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Costume Design, Jules Dassin's "Phaedra" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDU subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Don't cry, Phaedra
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jules Dassin's Phaedra arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.
When the film was released on DVD-R via MGM's on-demand program in 2011 (see listing here), I attempted to find out if there might be a Blu-ray release further down the road and I was told that at the time the studio did not have a high-definition master available for licensing. I mention this information because the film must have been remastered -- not fully restored -- fairly recently. And it easily shows because it has an overall very pleasing balanced appearance, with only a few very light blemishes popping up here and there, and stability is excellent. Depth is very good, but there are a few areas where small density fluctuations can be observed. Also, while shadow definition is mostly quite good, there are select spots where the blacks appear a tad elevated and the visuals can have slightly more 'thicker' contrasty appearance. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections, but there is room for minor optimizations that could have produced an even better overall results. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern. Lastly, there are no large distracting cuts, debris, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, this is a very fine organic presentation of Phaedra that makes it incredibly easy to appreciate the film's impressive cinematography. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is stable and very clean, never suffering from the type of annoying age-related imperfections that plague many of these older films. Frankly, I don't think that in terms of clarity and depth there is actually room for substantial improvements. Perhaps some careful rebalancing work can be done to improve fluidity, but I think that these changes would qualify as cosmetic work. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.
The wife of a powerful Greek shipping magnate is driven to the brink of madness when she is forced to choose between two men that she can't stop loving in this very stylish film directed by Jules Dassin. Phaedra has been recently remastered and this Blu-ray release is yet another special treat from the folks at Olive Films who continue to bring to the high-definition format great and important films that have been missing from the market place for years. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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